Tag: Southern Right Whale

The sun was shining this morning and we began our day with relaxed mother and calf Southern Right Whale pod who were resting right next to the brackish water tideline as the aquamarine green of the Southern Ocean met the coffee stained water of the Blackwood River. A beautiful rainbow could been seen as both mother and calf rested closely to the shoreline looking for a noisy environment to rest in as they know if they cannot be heard than they cannot be easily found by predators like sharks and Orca. The misty blow of a large adult was sighted just to our right and as we looked over we could see a heavily pregnant female who was so wide one could very easily walk along her back! She seemed relaxed but certainly not far away from labour as she would gently lift her fluke close to the surface when replenishing oxygen levels and decided to stick close to us.

Our journey had almost come to an end as we said goodbye to the pregnant female and as we watched the storm clouds approaching an enormous submarine launched itself from the water to our left… it was a breaching Southern Right Whale! Absolutely incredible to witness as she launched herself into another few breaches and then head lunging with mouth wide open and water going everywhere. The rain had arrived and we watched the beautifully dramatic scene unfold in front of us as we enjoyed the Southern Right Whale Storm. The spectacular surface activity is not frequently sighted from the adult Southern Right Whales who visit Augusta and as she continued the Language of the Whales™ we enjoyed every moment of this special sighting.

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The beautiful winter afternoon conditions were perfect for Western Australian Southern right Whale viewing as we sighted the dark pectoral fins breaking the waters surface in the nursery ground. The mothers and calves were playing together as we notice more and more of the mothers regularly using the “enough milk” position with belly and pectoral fins pointing to the sky. The calves grow bigger and more confident as they get older and start demanding more food from mum, but her resting position is the perfect way to deter too many meals for the cheeky calves. The little ones are just like sponges and we have noticed recently they have also started practicing belly and pectoral fins to the sky with very good attempts made but not quite as graceful as their mum!

One of the juvenile Southern Right Whales who have been sticking close to the mothers and calves was having a good roll and rumble today, she was so incredibly close to the beach we were wondering if she was having a good scratch on the sand below or perhaps enjoying some body surfing. Two large adults were sighted further off the coastline and we instantly recognised the large female and younger male from the courtship pod sighted over a week ago. Fascinating to re-sight these two (who were originally three but the larger male was no where to be seen) and they still seemed happy with each others company with the male carefully following the female around. These two have now been together for close on two weeks which is a very long courtship timeframe and we learn so much from these types of sightings. Two adult Humpbacks were cruising through the abalone farm and the male Bottlenose Dolphins are still hanging around Flinders Bay and enjoyed some bow riding today.

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The Southern Right Season for 2018 is well underway as we enjoyed the company of 12 different individuals who were all relaxing, socialising and playing in the sheltered waters of Flinders Bay today. Four mother and calf pods including Stacka were frolicking in the shallows while they practiced pec slapping and manoeuvring in the shallow environment. Feeding on approximately 360 litres of milk that has a 48% fat content will result in some pretty impressive results. The latest research has shown that these calves are putting on 50 kilograms of weight per day and 3cm in size! The warmer waters found in Flinders Bay (in comparison to Antarctica) enables a perfect environment for a calf to grow quickly as all of the energy from mums milk is used for growing rather than also trying to keep warm.

The Bottlenose Dolphins arrived in style this morning as the big males who we frequently sight in the bay raced towards us. They were full of energy and seemed very curious to what was happening, riding alongside our bow and showing off their numerous scars that are typically found on older, male dolphins. They also visited us again this afternoon and were busy chasing fish along the nursery ground before saying a quick hello to one of the mother/calf pods. Two adults also approached closely today and investigated us carefully allowing for a fantastic view of the unique callosity patterns located on their upper and lower jaw.

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A very exciting start to our week as we welcomed onboard the Augusta Primary School and lots of smiling and happy whale guardians were ready to go out and meet their neighbours! A calm afternoon greeted us as we made our way towards the unmistakable pectoral fins of a Southern Right Whale as Stacka’s mum was once again rolling onto her back and refusing to feed Stacka any more milk after his afternoon feed. The female Southern Rights must be very careful not to overfeed their cheeky calves as they have a limited fat supply to produce enough milk during their time away from the feeding grounds located in Antarctica. All of the Augusta Primary School students onboard were fantastic whale spotters and helped keep track of the three different pods we were surrounded by.

The beautiful whale replicas onboard were great fun to show the physical differences between Southern Right Whales and other species while the Blue Whale poo onboard that has been collected from the Perth Canyon was a real treasure! Seeing the oceans version of fertiliser is a remarkable experience as we Learn the Language of the Whales™ and the importance our magnificent whales play in the role of the health of our oceans. Izzy, Maddie and Molly did a fantastic job in deciding on a special name for Stacka’s mum and we are very pleased to introduce Spirit which is the perfect name for a special mother Southern Right Whale. Always an absolute pleasure to welcome onboard the Children, parents and teachers of the Augusta Primary School and fantastic to see the spirit they all have towards protecting and caring for the whales of Western Australia.

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Margaret River Region Whale Watching is fantastic during the months of June to August as we sight the northern migration of our Humpback and Southern Right Whales. Today we began our morning with a large competition pod of six individuals who raced through Flinders Bay at top speeds with the female leading the way. Their fast pace and sleek bodies slipped through the ocean with ease as each male jostled for position and we watched unique behaviours like “bull frogging” where a male will inflate his throat at the surface to appear bigger towards other males. Bubble veils and chin slaps also ensued as the males did their very best to impress the lady and deter each other! Charging towards our vessel they dived under and around us as the female used our vessel as a distraction and the clever males took the opportune moment to get closer to the female as they overtook any male who missed a step.

We were stopped in our tracks by a sleepy surfacing adult Southern Right Whale who was wondering what all the fuss was about. A wonderful surprise to see a lovely adult in the middle of Flinders Bay and one surprise became two as another adult surfaced… and then another! We were laughing as we watched a very good party trick our Southern Right Whales seemed to have mastered as one whale turned into three. Looking carefully we easily recognised all three individuals, they were the same individuals from the courtship pod we had sighted only a few days ago.

A wonderful clue of information and further addition to our research gathered today as we re-sighted the two males and one female who only a short time ago had been actively mating in the bay. A little further along our morning journey and we sighted the precious result of the courtship pods, 10-11 months later a tiny baby Southern Right Whale will be born and this little fellow was resting peacefully with mum in the shallows. Margaret River whale watching is at its best in Augusta as we sight both species in one wonderful morning!

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Enjoying the Flinders Bay nursery grounds is wonderful as we head towards August and making this season unique is Sunny Flynn, the Humpback Calf and his mum who continue to rest in the sheltered Flinders Bay. Little Sunny was breaching this morning and it is our first surface activity we have sighted from the young calf. His breaching was small, but he did a better job at a mini tail lob which looked strong  as he played next to mum. A relief to see this activity as it is showing he is feeling good about himself and taking time to practice the Language of the Whales™ instead of purely focusing on feeding, sleep and survival. Leeuwi was a young Humpback calf who was also born in Flinders Bay two years ago and we can clearly remember watching his first surface activity as he breached around our vessel. Continuing to learn from these mother and calf pods who are located much further south than the usual Humpback nursery grounds will be very important as we go forward.

Sunny finished his practice and play, all that hard work resulted in a well deserved feed of 48% fat milk from mum so we left him to enjoy his breakfast! The Southern Right Whale mother and calves were also enjoying the sheltered conditions this morning as we excitedly counted four mother/calf pods along the nursery ground and two young adults also playfully rolling and spy hopping in the shallows. One of the individuals was showing slight courtship behaviour as she turned her belly to the sky each time the second adult rolled towards her, a sign she was not interested in mating.  August must be just around the corner as we enjoy sighting numerous Southern Rights and the season begins to get underway. Our journey back to port one of our guests onboard made a great sighting of flying Dolphins! The local Bottlenose Dolphins including the young calf were porpoising towards us and raced alongside our vessel in a  very playful mood, they must have just finished their morning brunch.

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The Augusta Southern Right Whale Season for 2018 is well and truly underway as little Stacka showed off his very best breaching and fluke slapping skills, which certainly are not bad for a three week old! We had a sneak peak at little Stacka’s lower jaw/chin a week ago when he did a curious spy hop and noticed the white was distinctive and seemed to cover a large area on his chin. Waiting patiently for that special moment where we would have the big reveal and today was the day as he breached with belly pointing towards us and the most gorgeous splash of white covered his belly. A beautiful young whale who has not only good looks but a wonderful personality also starting to form as he enjoyed some Saturday morning “sport” after a feed of milk from mum as they relaxed close to the reef line.

Watching little Stacka playfully interact with his mum we noticed a small movement on the other side of us and instantly recognised little Sunny Flynn, the Humpback Whale calf who was swimming past close by with his mum. Lifting his head high above the water as he surfaced we could see in our images his little eye open and looking straight back at us, wonderful to see him continuing to swim strongly next to mum and his scratches that he collected earlier starting to heal as his skin pigmentation darkens.

Two curious adult Humpbacks decided to swim right up to us and investigate the entire boat as they swam in circles around us. One of the individuals showed old injuries collected from an interaction with Orca and were most likely caused during his first few weeks of life, this young whale was a survivor! A mother Humpback and her yearling were also a surprise sighting today as generally they sighted heading north at the beginning of the northern migration. They were cruising through the bay and stopped for a quick glance at the local Bottlenose Dolphins including little baby Linda who has grown the Dolphin calf who has grown so much since we sighted her last week.

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Three cetacean species in one day this morning is the perfect example as to why Flinders Bay, Augusta is one of the best places in the world to go whale watching. A privilege to have the opportunity to meet three unique cetacean of the Western Australian coastline as we began our morning with the curious approach of our local Bottlenose Dolphins who swam towards our bow to say their good mornings before continuing on the morning breakfast run. A black tail fluke hovering above the surface straight ahead captured our attention as we made our way towards this peculiar looking sight in the middle of Flinders Bay. Approaching we could see cetacean species number two for the morning as the distinctive pectoral fin and fluke of three Southern Right Whales danced at the surface. Excitedly as we watched closely we could clearly see courtship behaviour as the female was being seduced by two males and we had to avert our gaze at times due to the very close contact between the three whales! Sighting mating Southern Right Whales is a once in a lifetime experience that was not only incredible to witness but we also learnt so much by observing this very unique Language of the Whales™ right here in Flinders Bay, Augusta.

The only distraction we had as we watched the Southern Rights only meters away from our bow was a loud, “Breeeeach!” as just off our port side a Humpback Whale was launching into a full bodied breach, our third cetacean sighting for the morning. Watching carefully as head lunging, inverted fluke slapping and tail lobbing moved towards us. The male had decided to deter the other Humpback pods close by with some spectacular surface activity and as we made our approach the female he was travelling with also responded to the other males with enormous breaching! She seemed interested in attracting some attention and continued to breach towards us and in front of our bow before also pec slapping to make sure the boys could hear her loud and clear. Within moments another male had raced towards them causing Humpback Whales to divert and move quickly away from the approaching bachelor male. Our perfect morning was completed with a further sighting of six more Southern Right Whales including two mother and calf pods. Three cetacean species in one day is a dream come true for many and an opportunity that we would not have without the wonderful Flinders Bay, Augusta.

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Western Australian Whale Watching is always full of surprises and today was no exception as we sighted competition pods, Sunny the Humpback Calf and Stacka the Southern Right Whale calf along with Bottlenose Dolphins and surface activity. Our morning started with the high intensity of six male Humpbacks competing after a female with speed and one male in particular showing his strength. Lifting his head many times above the surface he would slam his lower jaw down onto the surface creating a large splash and noise to deter the challenging males. Bubble veils, inflated throat pleats and reversals which is a behaviour where the individual will lift their body up and forward before sinking backwards again were all sighted amongst these boisterous males.

The Southern Right Whales were also enjoying their time today as Stacka decided to practice some fluke slapping for his Saturday morning activities. Little Sunny Flynn the Humpback calf was sighted this morning and again this afternoon as his mum seemed to be moving around Flinders Bay trying to find a suitable resting place for them both. The afternoon was filled with many whales in the bay as they continued their migration with some surface activity amongst two pods displaying a great example of the Language of the Whales™ a the pod further ahead tail lobbed to prevent the attention of the two adults travelling alongside us. They didn’t change their directions of movement and to display that they also wanted to move into that area the big white bellied male showed us a magnificent tail lob and fluke slap as he communicated to the pod further ahead and conversation was finished! Another fantastic Saturday enjoying Western Australian Whale Watching in Augusta.

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The morning began with high energy as a competition pod of 9 raced with high speeds and big changes of direction through Flinders Bay. The males deliberately moved each other towards the abalone farm lines as they tried to cause obstacles and slow each other down. The female continued to keep them on the run and we watched the extraordinary power of 45 ton males spinning around floats! Our Southern Heart, the beautiful yearling Southern Right named by our guests on a previous tour, seemed pleased to see us again today as we watched an amazing interaction between herself and the local Bottlenose Dolphins. Twisting, turning and lifting her fluke clear of the surface we watched this beautiful young whale interact playfully with the Dolphins including the newest, tiny member of the family who is a gorgeous Dolphin calf.

Our afternoon began with airborne whales who were resting quietly right alongside us when suddenly there was a disturbance which launched the male Humpback into the sky only a few meters away from us and we all jumped as well! The female quickly followed and we watched in complete awe as two adult Humpbacks breached so close we could hear the Language of the Whales™ and a young gentleman onboard made a very good point, it sounded like an explosion of water as 40+ tonnes landed only meters away from us. The male continued to escort the female even when she swam directly towards and underneath us to investigate. Southern Heart, Stacka and Mum were all enjoying a gentle afternoon in a very calm Flinders Bay and the silhouette of a Southern Right Whales fluke in the sunset is a very beautiful moment which we enjoyed with the company of Dolphins again.

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The daily tours we enjoy with our whales provides the opportunity to meet many different individual whales and one question we often ask when spending time with our Humpbacks is, “Why do Humpbacks have scarring?”. The barnacles that attache themselves to the skin of Humpback Whales are very sharp and amongst competition pods it is very easy for the males to collect many scars over a lifetime. Female Humpbacks generally will not be as heavily scarred as the males, but each whale being an individual there are a few females that may be a little more outgoing and boisterous which would also result in scarring due to close encounters with other whales. Humpback calves also have slight scarring as their close constant and close contact with mum means they too will also collect some of these barnacle scratches.

We spent the beginning of our morning with resting Humpbacks who were sleeping just in front of our bow, resurfacing regularly to see what we were up to before returning to their resting again. Stacka and mum were enjoying some morning yoga as they both twisted and turned, playing together as we watched a beautiful background of the Augusta township. Further Humpback Whales were moving through the bay as two larger adults moved past a pod of three younger adults. The two larger individuals observed the other whales from afar but didn’t seem to interested in joining with the younger adults. One of the younger whales had the most beautiful big white belly that extended towards his dorsal fin and we could clearly see a great example of why do Humpbacks have scarring. Although only a young male we could see he was a determined individual who was carefully escorting his female through Flinders Bay and away from the following male!

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One of the many wonders of Western Australia are our whales who we are privileged to spend incredible moments with when aboard Whale Watch WA. Today was another one of those special days as we met two curious Humpbacks Whales who stopped us in Flinders Bay and decided to introduce themselves. Swimming directly to our bow and showing off their numerous barnacles and bumps we were intrigued to see their unadulterated curiosity towards us, we may be called Whale Watch Western Australia but today we certainly felt that People Watch Western Australia would be more suitable as we watched the whales watching us!

Both of the individuals came in so close to our water level viewing platforms that it felt like we were walking on water with the whales! The two friendly Humpbacks enjoyed a seaweed facial as they lifted their rostrums to drape seaweed across their upper jaw and make sure their skin is in the best condition. Completely relaxed with our company they stayed with us for over an hour and even a passing pod close by didn’t distract them away from us, instead the male Humpback tail lobbed only meters away from us to deter the approach of the second pod.

The spectacular surface activity worked as the second pod changed direction and moved away, leaving us to continue to enjoy the company of these remarkable Humpback Whales aboard Whale Watch WA . Our wonderful morning was complete with another one of the wonders, little Stacka the Southern Right Whale calf decided to show us his pearly whites today and we were blown away to see his entire lower jaw and belly is the purest shade of white!

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